Chapter 4 - The Bargain
I watched the tiny screen of my phone with a cold, calculated detachment.
Daniela was screaming, though the security camera's muted audio left her terror completely silent.
The masked men forced David and my daughter down the narrow wooden stairs into the basement.
I switched the camera view to the basement feed, watching as the intruders pushed a heavy bookshelf aside.
The concealed steel door of Richard's secret bunker was entirely exposed to the harsh basement light.
One of the men handed a heavy sledgehammer to David and gestured toward the solid steel lock.
David swung the hammer weakly, bouncing the metal head uselessly off the reinforced vault door.
A masked man stepped forward and struck David viciously in the ribs with the butt of his pistol.
David collapsed to the concrete floor, curling into a pathetic ball while Daniela wept beside him.
My phone rang again, shattering the silence of my hotel room.
"Your son-in-law lacks the upper body strength for this kind of labor," Victor Valenti said through the speaker.
"The vault is lined with titanium, Victor, a hammer will never open it," I informed him.
"Then give me the numeric code, Eleanor, or my men will start removing your daughter's fingers," he threatened smoothly.
I watched the screen as one of the men pulled a terrifying pair of industrial bolt cutters from a duffel bag.
He grabbed Daniela's hand, forcing her pale fingers toward the rusted metal blades.
"Wait," I commanded, my voice echoing loudly in the quiet hotel room.
Victor remained silent, waiting for my capitulation.
"I will give you the code, but you must promise to leave the contents of the blue velvet box for me," I negotiated.
"I only care about the black leather ledger," Victor agreed readily.
"The code is the date of my wedding anniversary, followed by Richard's birth year," I instructed.
I watched the camera feed as Victor relayed the numbers to his men on the ground.
One of the masked intruders typed the sequence into the glowing digital keypad on the vault door.
A heavy mechanical clunk echoed even through the silent video feed as the steel bolts retracted.
The heavy door swung open, revealing the dark, dusty interior of the hidden room.
The men rushed inside, completely ignoring David and Daniela, who were huddled together on the floor.
A moment later, the lead intruder emerged holding a thick, black leather notebook.
He also held a small blue velvet box, which he casually tossed onto the basement floor.
Victor spoke into the phone again.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Eleanor," he said cheerfully.
"Leave my house immediately," I demanded.
"My men are leaving right now, but you should probably check the local news," Victor said.
The line went dead again.
I stared at the security feed as the masked men jogged up the stairs and disappeared from the house.
David slowly stood up, wiping blood from his mouth, and looked at the blue velvet box on the floor.
Instead of checking on Daniela, he eagerly grabbed the box and ripped it open.
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His eyes widened in shock as he pulled out a massive, flawless diamond necklace worth millions.
He looked at Daniela, then looked at the open basement door, and sprinted up the stairs, leaving his wife completely alone.
